Divorced Dad and SingleDad.com member, RJ Jaramillo shares his recent family fishing trip and his Fatherhood Discovery
Fatherhood : Single Father Memories
| Author: RJ | Posted: 03/18/10 | ||
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Introduction (Summary)
Divorced Dad and SingleDad.com member, RJ Jaramillo shares his recent family fishing trip and his Fatherhood Discovery
Necessary Things:
- Pick a hobby or family activity to build a family tradition
Step 1:
I just finished my Memorial Day Holiday weekend with my family and I had an epiphany. As I was driving back to San Diego on Highway 395, I looked through my rear view mirror and saw that my son had changed. “When did he suddenly grow up?” I said to myself. I was fishing the whole weekend with him and I didn’t realize how much he has grown up. Not just in his size or voice, but in everything. I never felt like I was looking after him or worrying about him like a parent does when they are outdoors playing “Teacher and the Student”. He was acting kind of like… well, an adult. Our conversations on the lake fishing made me realize that I had one of those indescribable moments. Does this feeling or reflection happen to all Divorced Dads raising Teenagers? Is this a new stage of my life where I realize that my kids are no longer children, but young adults?
Step 2:
After I came back from our trip, I gathered some old photo boxes took out some photos from our past fishing trips. It was a great experience to reflect and collect the photo fishing history of my son. As you can see in the video and photos, something has changed. I am so glad that I was one of those divorced fathers that had a camera around all the time I had my children. These photos I took over the years are priceless and I know that there will be many more photos and fishing memories to come in the future. Not that I’m ready to be a “grandpa” yet, I am just saying that this is a special chapter in my life and I am enjoying the ride….
Step 3:
Father and Son moments are special. There is a certain “bonding” experience that goes on between two men over the course of time. Sharing a hobby or activity together makes the father son relationship extra special. Some dads like to hunt, play sports together with their son… I like to fish. I have many fishing memories with my father and I see that it has taught me a special gift to give to my son. I think that every father needs to find that “special fatherhood activity” and make sure that they have that “special tradition” on making that time and capture those moments with a photo history. For me, this last fishing trip has reminded me how important Father & Son moments can be for a single parent family.
Tips and Tricks:
Warnings:
- Dads may feel a little older when they keep a library of family photographs
CareerCoach53 - June 20, 2009
My son and I took our first road trip from Seattle to New Hampshire when he was 5 years old.He was my "navigator". We drove a pickup with a canopy. I built a bed with a seat belt so he could crawl through the window when he got tired. We went through Yellowstone, to the Custer Battleground, across the Great Lakes. We went to Plymouth Rock and tipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean.
Twelve years later we took our last road trip from Seattle to New Mexico in an old conversion van. He got his first taste of sopapillas and real Mexican food (with a lot of Native influence). Now he's out of college, married and making big bucks.
Those trips are two of his favorite childhood memories and mine. Just father and son hitting the road, two men out to see the world. Good times.